The Sapient Shinobi
by Aleliae
Summary: A certain white-haired Sannin was present to witness the events that transpired on the night of the Kyuubi attack. Determined not to let the son of the Yondaime suffer by the hands of vengeful villagers, Jiraiya raises Naruto himself. AU, OOC!Naruto. No pairings planned. Rated T for slight swearing and Jiraiya being Jiraiya.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd be filthy rich. Last time I checked, I'm not.**

**Edit: I just realized that in this chapter, the website somehow changed the long dashes into short dashes. I'll try to fix it, but for now, I apologize for the confusion.**

**Edit (12/30/13): I've changed a couple of things here and there after reading Enigmatic Insignia's amazingly helpful concrit. :)**

* * *

_Konohagakure, the night of the Kyuubi attack_

The demon roared, its nine tails sweeping effortlessly through the regiments of perishing shinobi. The ninja regrouped as a formation of ANBU launched themselves towards the monstrous beast, hand seals and blades at the ready. Long-ranged jutsu specialists prepared their best attacks while other jounin and chuunin pelted the beast with barrages of kunai and shuriken.

It wasn't enough.

Kyuubi merely batted away the ANBU with one of its tails while swatting away the jutsu and weapons with a lazy flick of its paw. Simultaneously, it swept dozens of buildings from their foundations with a hind leg, injuring hundreds and killing several with the debris flying from the devastation.

The demon growled, a ball of red chakra building with a horrifying swiftness in its snarling mouth. The ball was identical to the one that had, when released minutes before, ended the lives of many desperate Konoha citizens, a few of whom were merely civilians struggling to escape from the wrath and carnage of the battlefield.

The ninja looked upon this upcoming attack with dull trepidation, fleeting hope completely leaving their defeated gazes.

Jiraiya could only stare helplessly at this scene from his perch on Gamabunta's head, hoping above all hope that his former student, the Yondaime Hokage, would arrive before the beast could release the ball of destruction.

With a flash of signature yellow, he did. Minato Namikaze appeared next to Jiraiya donning ruffled but regal robes of fire, looking every bit the revered leader he was. In his arms, a yellow-haired newborn wailed.

Staring down at little Naruto for the first time, Jiraiya was flooded with both relief and terrible dread. _Child of the Prophecy, _his instincts whispered to him. _It has to be him._

"Are you sure about this?" he muttered hurriedly to Minato.

"I don't have time to decide that," the Hokage answered, his determined gaze flickering with doubt as he glanced at his child.

Quickly spotting the ball of red chakra building in the Kyuubi's mouth, Minato squared his shoulders and set down his child on Gamabunta's head.

"Better hurry," the boss toad croaked, his voice cracking with emotion.

Minato did just that, and Jiraiya could only watch, helpless again, as his student met his fate with naught but steely resolve and the Will of Fire.

He could only watch, frozen in despair, gaze clouded with horror, as the Hokage sacrificed himself for Konoha, the Kyuubi's attack interrupted halfway with a waft of terrible sealing power. He could only watch, insignificant, as fire roared and the baby Naruto was condemned to a life of hatred and isolation.

And when the flames cleared, the Kyuubi and the Hokage were both gone, leaving behind a wailing baby whose stomach was lit with a single burning, damning seal.

* * *

"I say we get rid of the demon completely! Kill the baby before it's too late!" an enraged civilian council member screeched, face twisted with righteous hatred.

"Exactly!" another civilian council member agreed. "Who knows how long that seal will last? Do we want a repeat of the destruction experienced today?!"

Jiraiya stood to the side of Sarutobi's seat, quietly observing the chaos of the "damage-control" council meeting instigated after the Kyuubi attack.

"Quiet!" the Sandaime growled. "As per our emergency election, I am in charge here. The baby will be left alone!"

"Why, though?" the first council member demanded. "Wouldn't it be safer if we eliminated the threat entirely? It makes no sense to keep that monster alive! Tell us who the container is so we can kill it immediately!"

Danzou, aware of Naruto's identity, opened his mouth to reveal it. Like the other council members, he was fully supportive of killing the beast to protect his beloved Konoha from further demolition.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, taking a menacing step forward. He was stopped by Sarutobi's arm as the old Hokage began to speak again.

"The identity of the container will be declared as an S-ranked secret! Whoever reveals the identity of the container will be sentenced to death. I assure you that the Yondaime's seal will not fail." The man's steely glare bore into the civilian council member and Danzou, both wavering under the eyes of the God of Shinobi.

There were no more complaints as the rest of those in the room quietly mourned for the loss of their beloved hero, the Yondaime Hokage.

"Now," Sarutobi continued, "let us discuss the matter of building repair and reconstruction."

The meeting continued without further incident. Jiraiya did not comment throughout, his mind occupied with thoughts of Minato and his son, Naruto, the innocent baby unwittingly facing a life of endless hatred.

* * *

When the meeting reached a conclusion, Jiraiya confronted Sarutobi in the Sandaime's new-but-old office. Sarutobi offered a genial but bittersweet half-smile as he glanced around the familiar room.

"I want to be Naruto's guardian," Jiraiya blurted suddenly.

Sarutobi paused and glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, I can't stand the idea of the boy facing such an isolated and hate-filled life, which seems unavoidable, if that shitty meeting was anything to go by," he continued. "Minato and Kushina wouldn't want their son to go through that, either. I'd provide for the boy as best as I could, because I know your life would be too busy, and Kakashi's young and still dealing with his grief—"

"What of your life, though?" the Sandaime interrupted. "What of your spy network and the traveling that comes with maintaining it? Have you taken into account your duty as the Toad Sage, as well? Though it is wonderful for you to offer, do you really think you would be able to handle raising a Jinchuuriki with the life you lead?"

Jiraiya snapped his mouth shut at that. He'd been so overwhelmed with the situation that he had failed to consider those factors.

"I have already thought about the future situation of Naruto," Sarutobi went on. "I will assign ANBU to watch over him at all times and place him in a well-chosen orphanage that will treat him as any other boy. When he is six, he will attend the Academy along with his peers and lead the life of a normal—"

"Are you fucking delusional?!" Jiraiya snarled. "That sounds all well and good, but do you really think an S-ranked secret declaration will stop the knowledge of Naruto's identity from spreading? Danzou's a crafty bastard, and I wouldn't be surprised if half of Konoha already knows who the container is. Even ANBU might not be able to protect Naruto from extremely determined assassins wanting revenge against the Kyuubi for their messed up lives. Who knows- maybe the ANBU themselves will try to kill him!"

"I can assure you that the ANBU I choose will be of the utmost quality and trustworthiness," Sarutobi rebuffed. His eyes gleamed with fondness, but also with growing annoyance.

"Even if Naruto's life isn't in danger," Jiraiya continued with building desperation, "he'll be miserable! If people can't kill him, they'll find other ways to fuck up Naruto, who they think of as the leftover reminder of their suffering and loss. He'll be scorned, feared, and hated by the very villagers his father died to protect! What would Minato think of that?"

Sarutobi's gaze wavered slightly and he moved to tidy the Hokage's desk, fondly gazing at a picture of Minato and Kushina sitting on the corner away from the piles of unfinished paperwork.

With a sigh, he turned towards Jiraiya and asked, "Why are you so dead-set on becoming Naruto's guardian?"

The Toad Sage grinned bitterly and answered, "There's something I need to make sure of. And plus, who would be a better sensei for Naruto than the sensei of his father?"

Sarutobi sighed again. "Fine, then," he relented. "I don't have much time to argue with you, with Konoha in this state. What's your plan for Naruto?"

"I'll take him with me while I travel, raising and mentoring him while managing my reconnaissance, until he reaches Academy age. We can leak a story saying that the demon container has been killed, which will satisfy those bastards." Jiraiya glared at nothing in particular. "Anyways, by the time he's six, Konoha would have likely forgotten about Naruto, so he can enter the Academy like you wanted. We'll have him under a henge, though, and pretend he's an orphan from some other village that Konoha was oh-so-kind-hearted enough to take in. The villagers love that sorta crap. They'll buy it and treat Naruto well. I'll go off and continue doing my spying and whatever, while Naruto will live a normal life."

"A normal life?" Sarutobi asked, amused. "With _you_ as his guardian for the first six years of his life? Konoha will be left to deal with the biggest pervert in the history of the Elemental Nations."

"Like you're one to talk," Jiraiya retorted with a smirk. "Anyways, I'm not done yet. Well, the only reason I'm going to drop him off at the Academy is because... well, I think there's gonna be something I need to take care of then. Plus, this way, he won't have to live like a missing-nin. He'll have a fake identity to fall back on if he wants to live like an average shinobi. After he graduates, well, we'll see."

Sarutobi sighed, face becoming serious. "I honestly do not believe this will be good for Naruto. He would be living a fake life. He would have to take on a fake name and assume a fake face. Do you really think we should put him through that?"

"It's better than living a life full of danger and hatred," Jiraiya answered. "Like I said before, he'll be targeted and treated like trash if we go with your idea." Here, the Sannin scowled.

"I don't know why you're so concerned about him _now_ if you were willing to put him under those conditions." Sarutobi seemed regretful.

"If I raise him and we go with this plan, we can tell Naruto who he really is and give him someone to really trust, because I'd be there to help him deal with the demon and tell him stories of his parents without fear of others finding out. He'd constantly be on the road and in the shadows with me, so we'll be safe."

Sarutobi sighed and relented. "Fine, then, but there are still some holes in this plan. Do you truly think that Danzou will believe us if we say Naruto's dead? He is, after all, a 'crafty bastard,' in your words. He will know that we are not telling the truth. The only way he will be convinced is if he sees Naruto dead with his own eyes."

Jiraiya felt a little stupid. "I'll figure it out, though! Can't be that hard too fool the old bastard."

"In addition, you will have to keep him under a permanent henge during the time you raise him, as well. If anyone sees what could very well be Minato's reincarnation, attention will be drawn to him."

"I can put some seals on him for that." Sarutobi acknowledged this with a tilt of the head, but still continued.

"Besides, Naruto will require official documents if he is to be admitted into the Academy. What village would he be from? What would be his name? We have to create a profile believable enough to pass through Konohagakure's security and the scrutiny of other suspicious shinobi and officers. We are, after all, a shinobi military village— in fact, we are the strongest in the Elemental Nations. It is not so easy to sneak in an unknown boy, no matter what large influence we might have."

Jiraiya felt a little stupid now. "Right... Well, I'll figure it out when the time comes."

Sarutobi sighed. _He sighs a lot these days_, Jiraiya mused. "Actually, if we are to create a false identity, I believe we should set it up immediately. This way, records can be traced back to the appropriate time."

"I guess I could go do that. Actually... what if we made him a straggling survivor from Uzushiogakure?"

And so, the two shinobi continued to plan, until another meeting finally pulled the Sandaime away. Jiraiya walked away from the office, head and papers full of plans that he would immediately carry out. Right after...

"Wait, where _is_ Naruto?"

After attempting to enter the meeting room and being blocked by ANBU (_But I'm Jiraiya of the Sannin! —Sorry, Hokage's orders.)_, Jiraiya realized that he would need to find Naruto himself. Cursing the old man under his breath, he went off to search for the boy, summoning a few toads to help.

Soon, he located Naruto in a small hospital crib in the same room as many other newborns. A dozing nurse guarded the infants, and Jiraiya quickly bypassed her to retrieve his charge (though first leering at-ahem, observing-the nurse's rather, erm, ample assets).

Jiraiya quickly whipped up a couple of protective seals, slapping them around Naruto's crib. Just in case. Now assured of the baby's safety, Jiraiya set off to execute his plans.

* * *

_Kirigakure, six years later_

"Yo, Ero-sennin, where are we going now?"

"What did I say about calling me Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya sighed and glanced wearily at the aggravating young boy swaggering behind him. During the past six years, he sometimes regretted his decision in adopting Naruto. The six-year-old grinned up at him, blond hair and blue eyes sealed to be red and green, respectively. His facial features were altered to resemble Kushina's more than Minato's. That blinding smile was completely that of Minato's, though, and Jiraiya felt an old ache tug in his heart once again.

"Konoha," Jiraiya replied. Naruto stared incredulously. "Remember that false identity I had you practice with?" The boy nodded. "Good. We're putting that into use now."

"You're actually gonna leave me there at that shitty Academy?" Naruto demanded. "What about that new jutsu you said you were gonna teach me? Rasengan, wasn't it? I'll never progress in that dingy ol' place!"

At this comment, Jiraiya smirked rather pridefully. (He ignored the swearing. He'd be a hypocrite if he commented on it, anyways.) Naruto was really fast at picking things up. His abilities probably rivaled that of a chuunin already. He seriously was ready to learn the Rasengan. He already had the basics of summoning down pat! _Just like his father,_ Jiraiya mused. Though, his attitude could use some work.

"Like I told you already, think of it as reconnaissance training. Find out as much as you can about the political and economical situation in Konoha and send the information to me in every letter. I'll be busy taking care of... matters that you don't need to be concerned with."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto muttered. "'Find ways to learn new things yourself, Konoha has a vast array of knowledge for those that can unlock it,' yadda, yadda, yadda. I don't want to be some pansy-assed 'Naoki Uzumaki!' Seriously, if you're gonna give me a fake name, make it cool!"

Jiraiya sighed. The trip to Konoha was going to take a bit, so ignoring Naruto would be next to impossible. "You should be grateful. 'Naoki' is as close to 'Naruto' as I'm willing to get, so you shouldn't have trouble adjusting to it. Plus, Uzumaki was your mom's last name. You already know that."

"And maybe acting more mellow could do you some good. You sure need it." The last part was muttered under Jiraiya's breath, but Naruto's sharp ears caught the comment. He stuck his tongue out at the Sannin.

"I'm awesome, though, and you like me anyways!"

"Kami knows why," Jiraiya groaned, fondly flicking the brat on the head. "Anyways, let's go over the cover story again. Remember, get into Konoha by climbing over the wall in the manner of a civilian."

Naruto pouted but conceded, quickly assuming the persona of "Nao Uzumaki" while Jiraiya took the role of the official that would confront him.

The rest of the journey continued in a similar manner, occasionally interspersed with complaints from the terribly bored Naruto.

* * *

When nightfall approached, Jiraiya realized that he had been so absorbed in reviewing with the brat that he had forgotten to find a place to stay the night. _The forest ahead seems like a good enough place to camp,_ Jiraiya mused. It was close enough to Konoha that the possibility of rogue ninja or bandits was extremely low. He hacked through the underbrush while Naruto chattered behind him about the boy's favorite subject: ramen. _I guess it was unavoidable,_ _with how much his parents loved it_, Jiraiya thought exasperatedly.

"Oi, brat, get up here and clear the underbrush. It's good training for future missions."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Jiraiya and crossed his arms. "You're just too lazy to do it yourself, Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya sighed in mock defeat, raising his hands. "Alright, ya got me. But you're still doing it. Punishment for that 'Ero-sennin' comment."

Naruto pouted but conceded, complaining up a storm the whole while.

Suddenly, both of their eyes narrowed. Naruto glanced up at Jiraiya, who nodded minutely, his fisted hand doing a quick twirl.

Naruto disappeared with a wisp of smoke and a log, reappearing moments later behind a shell-shocked, mask-donning ninja who quickly leapt away, pulling out his tantou with a _shing_. Naruto swiftly pursued, bringing out handfuls of shuriken to launch at the masked man and forming quick hand seals. "Kage Tokeru no Jutsu," the boy whispered, melting into the shadows.

As Naruto chased the ninja, Jiraiya hung back with a frown. That was a ROOT member—he was sure of it. The tantou was a distinctive sign. Sarutobi hadn't warned him of this... However, the ROOT ninja didn't seem to have the intention to engage—only to observe. Naruto had pursued only to gather potential info on the ninja's goal, and, perhaps, his abilities. He (hopefully) would not attempt to fight the ninja—the results would not be pretty. Observation would be easy, though, with the jutsu Naruto used.

The Kage Tokeru jutsu was developed by Naruto (with Jiraiya's help, of course) and allowed the user to resemble his or her surroundings, provided that the surroundings possessed enough shadows. Such a shame that the shadows were required... Jiraiya could think of many other ways he could put that jutsu to use...

* * *

_Meanwhile, about a kilometer closer to Konohagakure_

Naruto scowled at the swift, black-cloaked ninja he was tailing. The bastard wasn't revealing anything! Damn, fast, too... He didn't know if his Kage Tokeru would hold for long if he had to constantly travel at this speed.

The six-year-old was tempted-very tempted- to just ambush the jerk and give him a piece of his mind. But he recalled the signal that Jiraiya given him. The fist-twirl had meant _do not engage, only observe. _Naruto grudgingly admitted that Jiraiya might have a point. He continued to leap after the ninja, shadowy footsteps creating naught a whisper of sound as they passed by tree branches.

Unexpectedly, the masked nin came to a complete stop, and Naruto almost tripped in an attempt to do the same. The ninja glanced up at Naruto's location, and the boy mentally panicked.

_Crap, he noticed me! _Naruto wondered how this was possible. His jutsu was flawless, and Jiraiya had spent some painful years training Naruto in the art of stealth. _Unless he's a chakra sensor...?_

"I know you're there, _demon,_" a cool, calculating, female voice intoned.

_He's a she? Never mind that, she knows what I am?_ Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"I had hoped that I would not have to engage such filth," she continued, "but I cannot allow a monster to follow me."

Geez, this woman was rude. Hmm, she didn't seem to have any specialties, from first glance. He could probably get away with a long-distance Kawarimi. The observation would be somewhat unsuccessful, but at least he found that she knew about Kyuubi.

Naruto quickly formed the hand sea—

"You're not getting anywhere!" the woman snarled, launching dozens of kunai at him.

_Fast! _Rather unnerved, Naruto leapt up to avoid the kunai... which promptly followed him. _Damnit! Knew I shouldn't have underestimated her! _

Naruto pulled out his own kunai, throwing them and knocking the animated kunai out of the air, imbedding them in nearby tree trunks. The supposedly subdued weapons then pulled themselves out of the trees and continued to speed towards Naruto.

_Seriously?!_

Naruto continued to dodge, attempting to form hand seals but thwarted every time by the nimble kunai. _How is she controlling them?_

The kunoichi then formed some seals, and suddenly the kunai were crackling with electricity. Simultaneously, she leapt towards Naruto, seemingly _dancing_ around her kunai and slicing at the boy with her tantou.

Naruto was struggling to keep up. It was all he could do already to dodge the kunai, and now? The tantou whipped past his face once more, and a sharp sting told him that it had met its mark.

"Ha!" the kunoichi exclaimed, continuing to slash her blade at the panicking boy. "Take that, demon! How do _you _like to be the one suffering?" More cuts appeared on Naruto, leaving small trails of blood as he scrambled to avoid the infuriated kunoichi and her electrified kunai.

"I should kill you here and now," she said with a particularly nasty slash. "It wouldn't be far from what the eventual goal would be. I'd be welcomed back to RO-"

Suddenly, the kunoichi froze completely along with her kunai, which dropped ungraciously to the forest floor. Naruto desperately leapt back, finally forming the hand seals for the Kawarimi and disappearing, leaving behind a log that crashed into the woman and knocked her to the floor, making her land harshly on her now-non-electrified weapons.

She glared with intense hatred at the droplets of red raining down upon her, the only remnants of the revenge she was so close to achieving.

* * *

Naruto appeared, panting and covered in blood, next to a shocked Jiraiya, who had been peacefully lounging about a quickly-set-up camp site. The Sannin leapt to his feet and rushed over to the boy, inspecting him for serious injuries.

"What happened?!" he demanded of Naruto. "I told you to only observe him!"

"Her," Naruto corrected, quickly recovering and sitting up. "It was a her. She discovered and attacked me. That kunoichi was _fast. _And she had this weird technique that could animate kunai. I barely made it out alive."

Jiraiya sighed in relief when he found not a single scratch on Naruto-which was a little odd, with all the blood and torn clothes. "Tell me what happened," said Jiraiya.

Naruto launched into a tale (starting with exaggerated bragging of his stealth skills, as usual), and Jiraiya listened with a frown on his face as Naruto revealed the ROOT member's knowledge of Naruto's identity as the Kyuubi's container, which seemed to be how she noticed his presence. The Sannin raised an eyebrow at the description of her kunai technique-_Danzou's teaching chakra strings now?-_and scowled when the boy told him about the mention of an "eventual goal." He wasn't surprised but rather thankful about the ROOT member's paralysis that allowed Naruto to escape.

"Ne, Ero-sennin, why'd she freeze up like that?"

Jiraiya sighed, annoyed. He then contemplated whether or not he should tell the brat about ROOT. He'd already warned Naruto of possible assassins, so telling him about a specific group wouldn't really be necessary. Plus, if Naruto _did_ know about ROOT, the impulsive brat would probably attempt to expose or ruin it himself. Too risky.

"How should I know?" Jiraiya decided to answer. "Just be glad she did, or you'd be rotting in a pile of leaves right now."

"True," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "She completely screwed me over! I shoulda been more quiet. I guess my stealth needs work. And my speed, and my defensive techniques, and my hand seals..."

"No, it's my fault," Jiraiya interrupted. "I should've known this might happen. She probably sensed you because of the Kyuubi." The fuuinjutsu master rubbed his forehead. "I'll have to make some more changes to your seal, brat. If we're going to carry through with this false identity, we have to cover everything. I'll try to completely block the fox's chakra from you."

Naruto shrugged, putting his hands behind his head. "Go ahead." Jiraiya figured that he was only so compliant because the Kyuubi hadn't really done anything for him. The Sannin hadn't attempted to get Naruto to learn how to use the demon's chakra, deciding that the boy was still too young for that.

Naruto then glanced down at his bloody and torn clothes, narrowing his eyes. "Wait, does that mean that my enhanced healing will be gone, too?" Jiraiya startled. Enhanced healing? Well, that explained Naruto's lack of injuries... Wow, that was useful.

"Probably," Jiraiya answered regretfully. "But if you did have that, people would be suspicious. Also, if everything goes well, you likely won't need it, anyways."

Closing his eyes and laying down, Naruto conceded. "'Kay then, I guess."

"Hold on, don't sleep yet. I've taught you enough fuuinjutsu that you could learn something from this." Naruto scowled but sat up, eyes occasionally drooping as Jiraiya pulled out scrolls and ink, proceeding to start a long lecture about the Awesome Art of Sealing.

Engrossed in fuuinjutsu, Jiraiya could hardly be concerned about the long-forgotten ROOT member, who was currently speeding back to headquarters after her paralysis had worn off.

"Danzou-sama will be displeased..." she muttered. Suddenly, a smirk formed behind her white mask. "But he _will _be pleased to know that the Kyuubi has finally returned to Konoha."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you very much for reading! **

**This is rather AU. The characters are OOC, too, I guess- sorry, it's my first time writing a Naruto fic. This is sorta what might've happened if Jiraiya was present when Kyuubi attacked. The Sannin would've summoned Gamabunta, so Minato couldn't summon him, and he'd have to go directly to the demon with Naruto in tow. Also, since it's AU, I felt like I wanted to include a council. I know there are likely TONS of holes and inconsistencies... I'd be really grateful for any suggestions. ^~^; Also, if you find any grammatical or spelling errors, please tell me. This is not beta'd. **

**Please let me know what you think, and whether it's worth continuing or not! I really appreciate it. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the favs, follows, and review (yeah, no 's' here -shot-)! Here's the second chapter. I hope you like it!  
**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto. Now go bother some other poor fanfiction writer.**

* * *

_The wall of Konohagakure_

Naoki Uzumaki dug his knife in a slightly higher portion of the wall, grunting as sweat dripped down his brow. The harsh sun poked him mockingly with its burning rays, and Naoki's foot slipped a little. With a growl, the boy continued to move slowly upwards, his success depending entirely on the two dingy knives in his calloused hands.

He'd been climbing for about an hour already and had just reached the halfway point. The six-year-old sighed and continued to move upwards, his small muscles straining painfully with the effort. Naoki's torn, plain clothes were draped uncomfortably on his too-small frame.

In a watchtower nearby, a chuunin observed his ascent with narrowed eyes. She'd thought that the boy would have given up long ago, but the brat seemed really stubborn. Sighing, the chuunin decided that she would have to deal with him before he seriously injured himself.

"Oi, brat, what are you doing?" she shouted to the boy, who froze and stumbled a little.

_Finally!_ Naruto thought with exasperation. _I thought she was gonna make me climb the whole thing first!_ Externally, Naoki glanced up at the kunoichi with a pitiful expression.

"Uh, I-I'm just...um..." he mumbled. Shifting a bit in discomfort, Naoki struggled to come up with an answer.

"Speak up, boy. I can't hear you."

Naoki opened his mouth to mumble a little louder when suddenly, his knives slipped out of the wall. With a cry of terror, the small boy fell, closing his eyes to brace himself for the impact.

It never came. Naoki found himself in the hold of the chuunin, who had jumped down to catch the boy. She landed softly on the ground and swiftly leapt up to her watchtower, smirking slightly at the awed expression on the cute boy's face. Hmm, he was awfully light...

Naruto sighed in relief. _She's gruff, but kindhearted. _As was for every person he met, Naruto created a rough analysis of the kunoichi. _Mid-twenties in age, 5'6'' in height, lithe frame, mahogany hair and eyes. Medium-length hair tied up in high ponytail. Facial structures: 2, 6, 8, 5, and 13. Attire: chuunin uniform. Chuunin, likely B-ranked in skill. Agile, chakra levels average, adequate strength. Wind specialist, if that jump was anything to go by. No special skills or hidden weapons—probably would've felt them in her flak jacket by now. _

Ah, Jiraiya would've been disappointed with him about that lousy analysis. He couldn't really help it, though—his fatigue in climbing in that damn wall was not faked.

"T-thank you, Onee-chan," Naoki stuttered as she set him down. The kunoichi's heart melted a little, but her face remained stoic.

"Don't thank me just yet," she rebuffed. "Who are you and what is your purpose?"

_Okay, I practiced this. Let's hope I don't screw up._

Naoki sniffed a little, glancing up with teary eyes. "M-my name is Naoki Uzumaki, and I just want to find my mommy!"

"By climbing the wall of a heavily guarded ninja village?" the chuunin deadpanned.

The boy rubbed his eyes with grimy hands and explained, "Mommy went out to hunt one day, and I waited... She said she'd get me deer, 'cause that's my favorite, but... b-but she didn't come back." Tears streamed down the poor boy's face. "I went out to look for Mommy, but I never found her... And Mommy always said she wanted to have a better life... So I t-thought, maybe..."

Internally, Naruto winced. Damnit, Jiraiya! That didn't make any sense. Honestly, one would think that a reconnaissance master like Ero-sennin could come up with a better cover story. Turning up the pity-fest, Naoki pouted at the chuunin with trembling lips.

The kunoichi sighed. She wasn't good at dealing with these things. "I'll take you to Asato. He'll know what to do with you."

Picking Naoki up again, the chuunin headed towards the Security Division's headquarters, leaving behind a wind clone to keep guard.

* * *

Slipping through the Security Head's open window, the chuunin found a disgruntled Asato furiously flipping through some weekly reports.

"Sayako-san," Asato greeted with a sigh, not turning around. "What have I told you about doors?"

"That they're perfectly wonderful and practical points of entry," Sayako the chuunin replied with an acknowledging tilt of the head and a crinkle-eyed smile. "Thought this was rather important, though."

Meanwhile, Naruto took a few mental notes. _Loose security for Department Heads, no respect for protocol, repeated offense against superiors without repercussions—_this_ is Konoha, the greatest shinobi village in the Elemental Nations?_ He snorted a bit, but then, remembering the others in the room, Naoki covered it up with a particularly loud sniffle.

Asato turned at the noise and startled at the sight of the scruffy, red-haired boy in Sayako's arms. "Who is this?"

Setting Naoki down, the kunoichi replied, "He says his name is Naoki Uzumaki. I found the brat climbing up the wall with nothing but two knives and a lot of guts. " Asato raised an eyebrow. Naoki peered up at him with damp, grass-green eyes.

"He seems to have lost his mom or something," Sayako continued, "and I thought you'd know how to handle it. Well, I'm gonna go back to the tower now." Sayako leapt through the window with a salute, leaving Asato to stare at Naoki, who quickly averted his eyes. Putting down his reports, the Security Head glanced kindly at the trembling boy.

Naruto, once again, did a rough analysis. _Late thirties or early forties—retired from field duty. Hasn't stood up, but looks to be around 6'. Strong frame (broad shoulders), black-but-greying hair and violet eyes. Hair short and somewhat ruffled. Facial features: 7, 1, 4, 11, 6. Attire: causal red kimono with black accents and additions. Jounin, AA-rank chakra. Kind, go-with-the-flow sorta guy, seems hardworking, open; probably good with kids. _

This was ridiculous. He didn't see why Jiraiya made him do these weird analyses—he could spend his time thinking about way more awesome stuff, like ramen. Besides, that old sage probably already had super-in-depth records about every person in the Elemental Nations.

Asato regarded Naoki with an interested eye. Any boy that young who could climb the wall of Konoha had huge potential to become a skilled shinobi. Konoha needed more manpower, anyways, as it was still recovering from the attack six years prior. However, if the boy was from another village, they would probably be looking for him.

"Where are you from, Naoki-kun?"

The boy squirmed at this question and shakily answered, stuttering out a broken tale. Apparently, his mother was a wanderer who had come from a village in the sea. Naoki didn't really seem to know any details of it, but judging from the description, she was a survivor of Uzushiogakure. _That would explain the name, then._ The Uzumaki clan had been as big in Uzushio as the Uchiha clan was in Konoha.

The boy did not seem to know of the location or identity of his father, either. Seeing this as a great chance to gain a talented shinobi for his village, Asato did not pause to wonder of the boy's trustworthiness or honesty.

After listening to Naoki and giving the appropriate comforting comments, Asato made his decision.

"Naoki-kun, would you like to live in Konoha? We have plenty of available orphanages for you."

The boy seemed very agreeable to this suggestion—even a bit relieved, which was somewhat odd.

_I can't believe it worked, _Naruto thought incredulously.

Seeing his cooperative attitude, Asato continued to ask, "Would you like to be a ninja? Konoha is a ninja village with a wonderful shinobi Academy, and your climb tells me that it would be a great path for you."

_This is going exactly how we planned, _Naruto thought, incredulous once again. "Okay!" Naoki replied brightly, recovering rather quickly from the teary breakdown he had experienced earlier.

Asato smiled at Naoki with crinkled eyes. "We can get you settled and registered right away, then, Naoki-kun." He stood and headed towards the door, gesturing for Naoki to follow, but then paused.

"Hmm, it is not my place to take care of such things. I will send you over to the Intelligence department instead." Seeing Naoki's startled expression, he explained, "It is simply standard procedure for all newcomers to Konoha. The workers there will then settle you in and organize your papers. It will be nothing to worry about." Another crinkle-eyed smile.

_Damnit, _Naruto thought with a sigh. _I'd hoped that I could skip this part. _Naoki simply nodded with a shaky smile and followed Asato out the door.

* * *

_Tenkuu orphanage_

Naruto flopped down on his new bed with a sigh. The interrogation did not go very smoothly, and Naruto reviewed it in his head as he yawned.

They had actually sicced a Yamanaka on him, which he was completely unprepared for. Apparently, Konoha had experienced a couple of sleeper agent cases lately and did not want to risk dealing with another one.

Then the Sandaime Hokage himself had come in to save his ass. The well-respected God of Shinobi had come in and requested to speak with Naoki _privately, please, yes, I am quite sure, thank you _and the interrogators left.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime had said after putting up some privacy jutsu, and Naruto had prepared himself for doom. He was quite shocked, however, when the old Hokage had then explained his whole part in Naruto's escape, and expressed his surprise when Naruto told him that Jiraiya had never mentioned the Hokage.

"But then, what was the point of me sneaking in here like that, Hokage-sama?" Naruto had questioned, picturing a sniggering Jiraiya in his head.

The Sandaime had sighed and replied, "The original plan was that I would not have contact with you, in order to avoid garnering the suspicion of... certain people. However, somehow, it seems that those certain people have already discovered your presence and identity. It is only through their influence that a Yamanaka was assigned to interrogate you." So the sleeper agent excuse was a lie.

"Is that why that person was tracking us in the woods?"

The Hokage had nodded, troubled. "Yes, Jiraiya had informed me of such an occurrence."

"The plan failed, then?" Naruto had asked, imagining returning to the Sannin with a smug _I told you so!_

"No, it has not exactly failed. The certain people I mentioned are the only ones who seem to be aware of your... guest. Although they are powerful, they do not have enough influence to convince the village that you are the Kyuubi container when most believe that such a container perished the very night of the attack, six years ago. Jiraiya did make sure of that. You need not concern yourself with these issues, Naruto-kun; I will deal with them personally. Please, simply enjoy your time here in Konoha." The last comment was stated with a crinkled-eye smile, which Naruto was beginning to suspect was a common trait in the villagers of Konoha.

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama," Naruto had answered with a respectful bow.

"Please, there is no need to be so formal," the Hokage had told him, amused. "Just Jii-san is fine, Naruto-kun."

A little shocked at this request, Naruto had hesitantly replied, "Okay, then, Jii-san."

Another crinkle-eyed smile. That was getting rather annoying. "Do not forget; the Academy will begin classes in two weeks."

After removing the privacy jutsu, the two had exited the room, and the Sandaime remarked what a wonderful shinobi Naoki would be. The interrogators had bowed and quickly registered and settled Naruto into Konoha's best orphanage.

Naruto glanced once more around his new room (which he thankfully did not have to share) and spotted his shiny new Academy supplies, which the Intelligence department had provided for him. Being backed by the Hokage really did have its perks.

Entertained with thoughts of kicking ass in the Academy, Naruto drifted off to sleep.

The "certain people" mentioned by the Sandaime were the last things on his mind.

* * *

_A hot-spring somewhere_

Jiraiya giggled as he peered through a crack in the fence, catching a glimpse of the lovely ladies splashing around, many of whom would become the inspiration for his new book series. _Icha Icha_ would be a lovely title, he supposed. A particularly large cloud of steam obscured his vision from the girls, and the perverted sage wilted in disappointment.

He pulled back from the fence as a messenger eagle flew down towards him, carrying a letter with the seal of the Hokage. Opening it, Jiraiya read the letter with a frown.

"I'll have to get started soon, then," he muttered unhappily. "Damnit! I was having such a nice research session! The old Hokage sure has terrible timing."

A girl in the hot-spring with keen ears picked up the muttering, and, glancing towards the source of the noise, saw a perverted old man standing outside of a crack in the fence.

"Pervert!" the girl exclaimed, pointing at the offender and rushing towards her towel. Her friends, now also noticing Jiraiya, screamed and followed suit. Startled with the noise, Jiraiya looked back towards the fence but was smashed backwards by a boulder in the face, launched by a particularly strong kunoichi bathing in the spring.

Squeaking, the Sannin dashed for cover, under fire of fury-filled debris thrown by rightfully incensed girls.

* * *

**A/N (#2, sorry): Thanks for reading! Ah, this chapter is much shorter than the previous one... I didn't want to start the Academy portion yet, though. I also felt a lack of motivation... (reviews, please? -shot again-) There are quite a few differences in this story from canon, but it's AU, so... Well, if there are any huge plot-holes or glaring errors, I apologize.  
**

**Please let me know what you think! I'm sorta unnerved with the scarce amount of feedback...  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for the favs, follows, and reviews! Replies to unsigned reviews can be found at the bottom of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I seriously be writing this?**

* * *

Naruto glanced calculatingly at the unimpressive entrance of Konoha's ninja Academy. A small set of red double doors easily gave way as he sneaked into the building's stuffy interior. Moonlight from a nearby window illuminated a circular entrance area that would have trouble holding a dozen Year One students.

_I thought the proclaimed "greatest shinobi village" would leave a bigger impression than _this_, _the boy thought scornfully. _And have more security, _he added, noting the complete lack of guards, seal alarms, or security jutsu.

It did work in favor of him, Naruto supposed, as he whispered, "Kage Tokeru no Jutsu." _Just in case. _Now camouflaged, the six-year-old slunk further into the Academy, nimbly avoiding streams of moonlight scattered across the wooden floor.

Naruto had quietly spent a week in Tenkuu Orphanage before he started to tear his hair out in frustration. The place was nice enough, but it was filled with wailing babies, tittering toddlers, and far-too-obnoxious children who were far-too-curious about "the new kid." To get out of the orphanage, Naruto decided to practice his reconnaissance skills. It was the old sage's suggestion in the first place, and the Academy had seemed a worthy place to investigate—emphasis on _had._

Traveling down the narrow hallway, Naruto peeked into the empty sets of classrooms, moving on after discovering nothing but identically bland desks and walls. None of the teachers seemed to have bothered setting up their classrooms yet, which was quite surprising, with only a week left before the start of term. Naruto decided to find and inspect the head teachers' office; there had to be _something _interesting there.

By the time Naruto had cleared the deserted first floor, he had let down his guard considerably. The six-year-old even yawned as he pattered his way up the first flight of stairs. So, when three kunai suddenly whirled towards Naruto's head, the boy's rather girly squeak of terror was quite understandable.

"Who's there?!" a scar-faced chuunin demanded, brandishing more kunai as he stepped into Naruto's view. The young boy, in his effort to dodge the unexpected projectiles, tripped and fell into a bright patch of moonlight, becoming visible to the ninja as Kage Tokeru cancelled itself out.

Iruka Umino had decided to visit the Academy that evening to set up his classroom, not wanting to screw up his first year of teaching. He'd stayed a little late and was just preparing to leave when some suspicious noise had drifted up from the staircase.

The young chuunin startled as a small, redheaded boy tumbled out of the shadows. Lowering his weapons, Iruka asked, "What are you doing here, little boy?"

Naoki leapt to his feet, and, bowing his head, exclaimed, "I'm sorry, mister! I'm starting in a week, and I didn't want get lost, so I thought I could come find my classrooms." The boy pulled out a wrinkled schedule from his shorts' pocket. "A-and if I came here during the day..." he continued, shifting, "they'd laugh at me."

Iruka's face softened as he put away his kunai. Such an enthusiastic student! An orphan, too, from the looks of it. The young teacher hoped the boy would be in his class.

"Iruka Umino, Academy teacher," the chuunin greeted, giving a crinkle-eyed smile. "Pleased to meet you..."

"Naoki Uzumaki!" the boy hastily blurted, bowing again. _Another crinkle-eyed smile...what is up with those?_ "Pleased to meet you, Umino-sensei!"

_Okay, it worked, _Naruto thought with relief. He'd thought of a backup plan in case he was discovered—something Jiraiya had strongly emphasized the importance of. His information gathering was cut short, but he could always come back. Gah, he couldn't believe he'd let down his guard like that. Next time, he'd be more careful.

With a kind expression, Iruka offered, "If you want, I can help you find your classrooms, Naoki-kun. The room numbers are a little wacky, so it's easy to get confused."

Not wanting to refuse, Naoki nodded, handing over his schedule with an exuberant _thank you._

"Now, let's see... Oh, you have homeroom with me! Room 241. My classroom's over here..."

The two proceeded to find all of Naoki's classrooms, and Naruto felt a little grateful—the room numbers _were _confusing. If he hadn't come here, he would've definitely gotten lost on the first day.

Umino-sensei was very nice, too, and very enthusiastic about his job. The young teacher chattered energetically about the classes and gave Naoki some interesting insights as a new chuunin instructor. By the time they were halfway through the schedule, Naoki began to chatter back, directing innocent inquiries to the unsuspecting teacher, who answered them all with a grin at the boy's interest. _Might as well make the most of this, _Naruto thought with a mental shrug. Umino-sensei didn't really need much prompting to begin revealing what Naruto wanted to hear.

"I live at Tenkuu Orphanage, and—"

"Oh, I lived there, too! I just recently moved out, actually. I had to go to an orphanage... along with many others...after the Kyuubi attack. The demon fox really did a number on our village. The Yondaime himself died to kill the Kyuubi..."

So the villagers thought the Kyuubi was dead. Good. Jiraiya's efforts weren't completely wasted.

"But let's not get into that depressing subject. Do you like the orphanage? Is Iri-baa-san still being a nosy worrywart?"

The rest of their conversation carried on in a similar manner. By the time Naoki bid goodbye to the amicable chuunin, the amount of gained information far surpassed Naruto's original goal.

* * *

Naoki was roughly shoved past the red double doors as dozens of students rushed in to the Academy building. All different shapes and sizes of aspiring shinobi lounged in the cramped entrance area, chattering excitedly about the start of the new term.

Stumbling over a couple of idle feet, Naoki clutched tighter at the supplies in his arms, hurrying up the stairs towards his homeroom class. On his way, the boy bumped into a couple of other Year One students whose faces showed fear and confusion. Glad he wasn't one of them, Naoki headed towards Room 241, gait steadier with every step.

By the time he reached his destination, Naoki waltzed into the classroom with a bright smile and an enthusiastic greeting.

"Good morning, Umino-sensei!"

The young teacher looked up from his notes and smiled at the boy. "Good morning, Naoki-kun. Please sit wherever you want."

Nodding, Naoki bypassed rows of empty desks and settled himself in a corner seat next to a window—the best seat in the room. A few supplies were already there, but Naoki moved them over to the neighboring desk and set his own things on his desired seat. Just to stake his claim, Naoki quickly carved his name on the corner of the desk with a kunai, which Iruka was too absorbed in his notes to notice. The boy then put his head on his new desk and proceeded to take a nap.

Naruto relaxed with a sigh. He'd spent his last couple of nights wandering around the many streets of Konohagakure, which were occasionally patrolled by ANBU. The supposedly elite soldiers were great pranking targets, in Naruto's opinion. The boy had never enjoyed using Kage Tokeru that much before. Smirking, he recalled yesterday's encounter with the dragon-masked ANBU.

_Sitting on a roof, Dragon's head dropped tiredly into his lap. He really hated night patrols. The ANBU hadn't had a _real _mission in weeks! No one would notice if he slacked a bit... it wasn't like anyone else was around here at this hour..._

_Suddenly, red-hot flames burst from the mouth of his dragon mask, lighting his clothes on fire. Alarmed, Dragon jumped up and furiously beat at his burning clothes, leaping around in a frenzy, flames still erupting from his mask. _

_Camouflaged on a nearby balcony, Naruto sniggered at the dancing ANBU. His genjutsu was really improving. _

_When the flames failed to be put out, the panicking Dragon decided that he had no choice but to..._

_"Suiton: Hahonryuu!" A large spiral of water formed in the ANBU's hand, which he quickly directed to his flaming clothes. Now drenched, Dragon was unpleasantly surprised when the flames remained and even grew in intensity. _

_"Suiton: Hahonryuu!" He tried again, with the same results. Mind still fogged with fatigue, the ANBU continued his futile efforts until Naruto, still hidden and sniggering, decided that the poor ninja had suffered enough. Canceling the genjutsu, the boy leapt away to find his next target. _

_Sighing in relief when the fire disappeared, Dragon inspected his drenched clothes for damage, quite surprised when he found no trace of the previous flames. _

Naruto really couldn't believe the dragon-masked ninja actually fell for that. The requirements for becoming an ANBU seemed to be pretty low.

"Hey!" Naruto was broken out of his thoughts by an indignant shout. Looking up, he saw a boy his age with black hair in the shape of a duck's butt.

"What?" Naoki replied, blinking.

"That's my desk," the black-haired boy declared, crossing his arms. _Ah, so that's who the supplies belonged to._

"I don't see your name on it," Naoki replied innocently. "Actually, I see mine." The redhead pointed at the hastily carved _Naoki Uzumaki _on the corner of the desk. "Also, isn't your stuff right over there?" Naoki pointed to the desk next to him.

Unable to argue with this sound logic, Duck-Butt scowled and sat down at the neighboring desk, angrily glaring at the whistling Naoki.

_Pansy-ass, _Naruto thought smugly.

Soon after, more students began to file in, and Naruto watched them with bored eyes. Some seemed interesting, though—a girl with pupil-less eyes, another with pink hair; a boy with striped cheeks and a dog, another with sunglasses and a high collar. Three kids sauntered in at once: a chubby boy munching chips, a boy with pineapple-hair, and a blonde girl berating them both. Somehow, these kids all ended up sitting in the back, close to Naruto.

When class started, Naoki diligently listened to Iruka's opening speech. Naruto, however, was bored out of his mind. His eyes subtly wandered to observe his new classmates.

Duck-Butt was busy carving his name into the corner of his desk. _Sasuke Uchiha, eh?_ Stripey played short-distance fetch with his dog, and the pup bumped into the chubby guy, making him drop his chips. The blonde girl smacked him in the head while Pineapple yawned. Pinky and Pupil-less were actually listening, though the sunglasses-guy next to them seemed to be absorbed with a black, moving speck in his hand. Was that... a bug?

At the front of the class, a group of girls gossiped, giggling occasionally when looked at by the surrounding students. Taking this as a cue to begin talking themselves, the rest of the class slowly began to chatter. The volume of the classroom increased steadily.

All through this, Iruka continued to speak, not reacting to the small disturbances. A bead of sweat dripped down the young teacher's brow. But when the dog crashed into a student's leg, knocking him out of his chair, the chuunin could take it no longer.

"SILENCE!" Iruka roared, his hands slamming down on his desk, notes flying everywhere. The class jumped and promptly froze in terror.

"This is serious business!" the teacher continued, furious. "We teachers have worked hard to prepare these lessons to educate you on the revered secrets of the shinobi. Someday, you will don hitai-ate and pledge your lives to protect Konoha! You are the future of this village. Now SHUT UP AND ACT LIKE IT!"

The lesson continued smoothly afterwards.

* * *

By the time the day was over, Naruto was just about ready to impale himself with his kunai. All the classes had been boring as hell. Even lunch had been a nightmare—they had been faced with _another _freakin' lecture. Naruto hoped and _prayed_ that the next day would be different.

To vent his frustration, Naruto decided to visit some training grounds. He hadn't really trained much sense he entered Konoha, but now seemed a great time.

The six-year-old found his ideal destination at Training Ground 44—a large, circular area of enclosed forest. The place was perfect! Naruto leapt over the fence, and, in his excitement, failed to notice the ominous sign in front of the chained door that read, "Forest of Death."

Jumping onto a shadowy tree branch, Naruto used the Kage Tokeru jutsu again. He loved the technique, and it'd be good practice to keep it active during training. The boy decided to move deeper into the training ground before starting his routine and so sped into the dark mass of trees.

Bounding silently from tree branch to tree branch, Naruto observed his surroundings. About two kilometers in, the forest was very thick and dark; not much sunlight made it through the canopy. For some reason, it was eerily quiet—there weren't a single rustle or chirp to be heard. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto threw out a small wave of chakra to sense for nearby presences.

The boy's eyes widened as his search turned up the chakra signatures of about a dozen huge, non-human creatures following him on the forest floor. Stopping abruptly on a particularly high branch, Naruto sent out a larger wave.

The creatures had stopped with him...along with another few dozen similar presences. Gulping nervously, Naruto looked down with chakra-enhanced eyes.

A hundred giant, red-legged centipedes stared right back at him.

They looked hungry.

_Ooookay..._

The centipedes simultaneously jumped at him, their pincer-like mouths snapping at the redhead. A thin, mist-like liquid shot from their bodies, quickly evaporating into the air. Cursing, Naruto dropped the Kage Tokeru—they could sense him, anyway—and dodged the huge arthropods, landing on the topmost branch of his tree.

His hands blurred as he formed the seals for Kawarimi, not wanting to deal with the creatures—and absolutely nothing happened.

Hissing, the centipedes climbed up towards him with unreal swiftness. Their sharp legs dug into the tree bark, leaving gaping holes in their ascent. More of the mist-like liquid seeped out of the newly made holes, drifting up and disappearing into the air.

Unnoticed by Naruto, the bright red color of his hair had altered to an equally bright shade of yellow. Three whisker-like marks appeared on each rapidly tanning cheek. Green eyes turned vivid blue as the round cheekbones under them sharpened.

"Fuuton: Toppuu!" Naruto yelled, hoping that the large gust of wind would knock the centipedes to the ground.

It didn't. In fact, the gust of wind failed to appear. _What the hell? I can't use my chakra!_

Naruto turned towards the direction of the forest's perimeter and tried to make a hasty retreat, only to find himself surrounded by a whole circle of centipedes perched menacingly in nearby branches.

The centipedes on Naruto's tree approached slowly, still emitting the weird mist.

Digging into his hand into his supply pouch, Naruto grinned.

The now-blonde boy leaped from his branch towards the outer perimeter of the centipede circle. His foot landed on a branch and quickly left it as a centipede head appeared a split-second later. Naruto did a quick backflip to avoid another attacker and used a centipede below him as a launching pad to jump to another of the creatures, then using _that _one as another launching pad.

Mist continued to leak from the mouths and legs of the centipedes, but none of it seemed to be dangerous. Naruto continued to dance around the arthropods, looking closely for an opening to escape, though when the boy found every path blocked by another centipede, he didn't seem too concerned.

Naruto flipped, dodged, and jumped some more as the centipedes' frustration grew. When the six-year-old's foot landed on one last centipede head, a smirk lit his face. Naruto leaped high into the air and _pulled._

The ninja wire in his hand went taut as the hundred centipedes crashed together in a single, tangled ball of segments and legs.

Naruto landed on a tree branch and wiped imaginary dust from his clothes, humming merrily. He then quickly headed back to the outside of the forest. It would be dangerous if he encountered any other creatures—he'd only had that one ball of ninja wire, after all. Besides, he really needed to inspect that weird chakra problem.

Finally reaching the edge, Naruto tumbled out of the forest and landed ungracefully on the ground. With a sigh, the blonde boy glanced back at the training ground's fence, finally noticing the sign that said, "Forest of Death."

Sheepishly rubbing his head, Naruto settled into a meditating pose. Shock flitted across tanned features as he discovered a thin-but-strong liquid covering every one of his tenketsu. _So that's what the mist was..._

Naruto went over his encounter with the centipedes, mentally cataloging the appearance and abilities of the odd creatures. He'd have to find a counter for the mist if he ever wanted to go back into the forest—which he really, really wanted to do. Who knew Konoha would have such great training grounds? There were likely countless more awesome things in the shadowy depths of the "Forest of Death," and Naruto intended to discover them all.

Naruto headed towards a nearby river, hoping the substance would wash off. He stripped to his boxers, throwing his clothes haphazardly along the bank. When Naruto looked into the clear river, preparing to jump, he almost fell over at the sight of the unfamiliar boy reflected on the surface of the flowing water.

_The Illusion Seal wore off! How could this happen? _Suddenly, Naruto recalled one of Jiraiya's fuuinjutsu lessons.

_"Every kind of seal needs an energy source—chakra—to function." _

That made sense. He supposed that the Illusion Seal ran on his chakra—a really practical innovation, he grudgingly admitted. All he had to do was wash the mist off...

_Wait! If the Illusion Seal runs on my chakra, does that mean Kyuubi's seal does, too?! Shit, fuck, shit! _Panicking, Naruto inspected the swirl-shaped seal on his stomach, simultaneously checking for the demon's presence with his chakra.

When finding both in place and unaltered, he breathed a sigh of relief. The seal probably ran on the demon's chakra.

"Not like my measly chakra could hold the Kyuubi at bay," Naruto scoffed to himself.

"The Kyuubi?" a feminine voice questioned, making Naruto fall into the river in shock. With a chuckle, the voice continued, "Man, I didn't think you could get any more interesting, kid."

* * *

**A/N: Once again, thank you for reading! **

**I apologize for my sucky prank and action scenes. Actually, I apologize for my sucky story in general. ^~^;**

**A few details of this AU may be a bit confusing. The Academy structure goes by grade/year (Year One, Year Two, etc.), and there are three classes of students each grade. There are lesson-based schedules. However, though the students have multiple lessons with different teachers, the people they take those lessons with are the same. All of them just sort of get up and move around together, I guess. Also, Iruka is a bit older than he was in canon. Currently in this fic, he's 18. There are a couple of techniques I made up, but they're pretty self-explanatory.**

**I dunno if I can keep up the daily updates, because I'd have to write daily, too, but I'll try.**

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**Again, please let me know what you think, and if you find any glaring errors!**

**Long author's note, sorry. ^~^;**


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